Heavy vs. Light Workouts

The fact remains that you can't train heavy all the time... but you can train heavy every time. But because your body needs time to recover from heavy, productive, muscle-building exercise, you need to add more time off between workouts. Our man in the aforementioned "scale" example can do a workout that is a 37, then one that is a 40, then one that is a 41 — if he takes enough time off between workouts. That's the way you work your way up to 100. That's the way everyone has to do it. It's a physiological law.

There is a concept that can really help unlock the secret to all of this: Perceived Effort. Hypothetically, if your level of strength is 28 then a 26 workout feels extremely intense and demanding (remember; you're lifting within 5 points of your maximum strength). But if your strength level is 88 and you perform an 86 workout, the perceived effort is identical.

As you get stronger your workout intensity increases but your perceived effort stays the same. That's great news because it means you don't really have to psych yourself up for more and more difficult workouts... just the same level of perceived effort every time.

benefits of light training

So it's easy to see why the guy performing a "light" day is pretty much wasting his time. There is no possibility whatsoever that his light workout can trigger new muscle growth. In fact, if his last workout was productive, his body will be in recovery mode and will need to fully recover before the new muscle growth manifests. And doing another workout the next day — even a light one — will only slow down recovery.

Personally, I think the main reason guys go to the gym for "light workouts" is just so they can watch that cute blonde on the treadmill. The gym, for many guys, is what the local bar is for others: A place to meet and socialize. So people have taken their need for frequenting the gym and rationalized it into a training method of frequent "light" days without regard to the physiological facts of the matter.

But, all that said, there is one tangible and valid benefit of lighter training: Stress relief. Speaking for myself, I tend to carry stress in the muscles of my lower back and my neck and traps. If I do a few deadlifts and shrugs, I get instant relief. I only need to use 30 or 40% of my maximum to get this stress-relieving benefit. The best part is that if I keep the perceived effort very low, I know I'm not slowing down my recovery too much. The stress relief and mild endorphin release makes it a pretty good bargain. But I don't kid myself that I'm building muscle. I know that takes truly grueling effort.

So... want to get the best of both worlds? Plan your productive, muscle-building workouts far enough apart to ensure a steady climb to that "100," which represents your full genetic potential. And when you need some stress relief and a shot of endorphins, do a few lifts at about 30% of your capacity. And keep an eye on that blonde.

Peter Sisco is the co-author of Power Factor Training, The Golfer's Two-Minute Workout, Static Contraction Training, and other books. He is also the editor of the five-book "Ironman's Ultimate Bodybuilding" series. The step by step workouts he recommends are also available in his new e-book.